Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 April 1911 — A MINISTER IN TRUST [ARTICLE]

A MINISTER IN TRUST

AINT PAUL speaks of the g° s Pel as a dispensation ■jEWL committed unto him. That is, he was specially called and the gospel was com- ' "" mitted to him that he might preach It to all people. The gospel of the Gentiles was committed to him; that is, he was set apart to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, as Peter was commissioned specially to preach the gospel to the Jews. He exhorts Titus to keep that good thing which was committed to him, the trust given him. Paul himself felt under constraint; he was not a free man, but a servant of the Lord Jesus, to whom was committed the ministry of reconciliation. He felt that necewtfty was laid upon him to preach the go*• pel as It was revealed to him. So strong was this sense of obligation that he said, "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.” This Idea of a trust underlies the ministry. The gospel is “committed’*’ to the minister who (k called to God; it Is a sacred trust It la not something given to him for his own use, but for the purpose defined In his commission. The servants were placed in trust when the talents were committed to them. The laborers In the vineyard did not own It; It was committed to them In trust for the owner. This cannot be too severely impressed upon every one who enters the ministry* He Is no longer his own master, but a servant to do the Lord’s wilL The gospel Is committed to him for .others. He may have a call of God to a particular place or to a certain class of people, but that means simply that the gospel Is given him in trust for that field or that class, and woe Is unto him if he does not make known the riqhes of grace and persuade men to be reconciled to God. In this he may call Into service all his abilities, he may command all &• knowledge gained In the broadest studies, but all for the one supreme purpose—the gospel to those to whom he Is called. To this loyalty to God gives gives him joy In his ministry and an abundant reward In the assurance that he Is serving the Lord. Purpose of the Gospel. This gospel Is committed to him ft trust Tor the church of God. Paul felt this. The church of the living God was ever In his mind. The gospel ft for more than the conversion of Individuals who may hear the word. It la for the founding and building of the church of God. Paul gathered those who believed into societies, or churches. He commissioned others to’ ordain elders in every city, that is, to organize churches. It Is popular at the present time to speak lightly of the church. It Is regarded as a loosely associated company of those of oommon faith, or, on the other hand, as MR association under priestly and despotic rule; a minister Is referred to as under no restraint or obligation to rm gard the church, or as one who baa off freedom of w*BL But the gospel of Jesus Is tor the church, it is In recog* nition of its authority and for Its upbuilding: Jesus preached the kingdom of God and sent his disciples as messengers for his kingdom. Loyalty to Jesus carries with it loyalty to his church. The minister’s message la the message of the church of God; he Is entrusted with the interests and work of the church. Remember the Work. The same thought carries us still further. The minister receives his ordination from the church by Os proper authority, the bishop or the feels Itself in trust for certain pdk» presbytery. The a particular church feds Itself in trust for certain principles. and work, for a certain phase of truth and service, as In Paul's ministry to the Gentiles, and In its ordination It commits this trust to those on whom the hands are laid. They gs forth under that commission, and upon them rests the obligation to taUHI the trust There is large liberty of individual judgment, but’ the commission must be kept In mind. In methods of work, In the details of oae's ministry, there is room for the Individual judgment, but the commlssleai remains. There is not "freedom to break down the work of the church in which (me Is a minister. Loyalty to Christ loyalty to the church of God. Imposes the obligation of loyalty to the church whose commission one bears. So long as he bears the commission he Is under obligation to guard and build the work of the kingdom of God as committed to him. He Is s minister to trust.—United Presbyterian. , „ ’